In four decades
and thousands of transactions with my fellow man I’ve neither initiated
nor accepted force as a means to accomplish anything. And yet, I’ve
decided to become more skilled in the use of a gun to keep force,
violence, crime and tyranny out of my life where they belong.

Even with a
perfect record of non-violence my intuition tells me I’ve got some
gun work to do – to keep it that way. And like car insurance, wearing
a seatbelt or taking vitamins the most it will do is keep things
the same, because:

Investments
in self-defense return a maximum of keeping what you already have.

Most of the
efforts of arming myself have been spiritual and intellectual. In
fact, I’ve put 1000 times more effort into avoiding violence than
on fighting skills. That seems low but 1000-to-1 is probably normal.
My job doesn’t involve teaching karate or any kind of self-defense
training. This article is about increasing the "1" side
of this ratio to "2" and I’ll give 76 reasons for doing
so.

A Few Words
on the 1000

Preferred areas
of focus for optimal living are: Values, Goals, Strength, Talent,
Education, God, Health, Family, Prayer, Money, Intuition, Liberty,
Barter, etc. Any plan that emphasizes a gun instead of these is
doomed from the start.

I’m adding
gun skills on top of the cornerstones for optimal living. Most countries
don’t have this luxury, even in 2009. They have to use sticks and
clubs and will be in trouble with the state for using even these.
Of course, their predators will be using all the latest weaponry
without a care in the world of legal consequences. That’s just how
governments and criminals roll everywhere in the world except Switzerland
and parts of the U.S.

Luckily for
me, the valiant work of my ancestors guarantees me a right they
didn’t have: To use a gun to protect my family. The stabilizing
peace that follows in the wake of private gun ownership enables
my family to continue focusing almost completely on the ideals of
a purposeful life.